ACT BRANCH
Robert Altamore, President
In the last twelve months the Branch has continued to contribute to the national and local work of the NFBCA, representing the views of blind people and providing peer support and advocacy.
The Branch has continued to press for adequate funding of the ACT Taxi Subsidy Scheme, for people with disabilities, and for the opening up of the Scheme to people who have been refused entry. Tanya Harrison and I met with Marion Reilly, the opposition spokesperson on disability services and she has strongly supported us on this issue. We are aware that some additional people have been given access to vouchers but this may be due to their own strong personal effort rather than to any improved access to the Scheme. We continue to monitor the situation and to put the case for funding for and improved access to this important service.
Some of our members attended a forum on transport for people with disabilities organised by the ACT Branch of Disabled Peoples International in November last year. The Taxi Subsidy Scheme was prominent among the issues raised and issues surrounding Action Buses were also to the fore.
The Branch conducted a Services Forum in Goulburn on Saturday 10 May 1997. It was one of a series throughout New South Wales conducted by NFBCA members and made possible by the financial support of Royal Blind Society. It was a great day of information exchange and discussion, attended by 23 people, all of whom were in the older age group. For many of these people, it was a chance to get a comprehensive picture of the services available and to discuss matters of concern. The organisation was done by June Ashmore and myself with support from NFBCA President Michael Simpson. I thank everyone who helped to make the forum so successful.
Branch members have continued to contribute to NFBCA Soundabout NSW/ACT. This is a tape magazine which is a project of the NSW/ACT Development Committee and is supported by the Royal Blind Society grant. June Ashmore has continued to co-ordinate our input into this project. We also acknowledge the continued support of Paul Langham who has provided production assistance for the ACT contribution and who, as station manager of 2SSS, has made the station's studios available to us at no cost.
The joint project with the Sydney Branch for a directory of Services for blind and vision impaired people in NSW and the ACT is about to come to fruition. Thanks to hard work by members of the Sydney Branch the budgetary and production problems have been overcome. The special format production costs are being funded by a grant from the NSW Disability Council.
The Branch joined with the ACT RP Association to hold a most successful Christmas midyear function. Thanks to those who organised a most enjoyable evening. Branch finances have been improved, thanks to a raffle, for which Len donated a beautiful crocheted rug as a prize. Also thanks to member Lillian Payne for a generous donation.
The Branch has met three times this year but numbers have been small. A highlight was the talk at our February meeting by Rod Roberts, in which he encouraged us to place more importance on recreation. Thanks to staff of the Canberra Blind Society who have worked back to enable us to use the society's meeting rooms. The ability to meet in a central location is important to our work as an NFBCA Branch.
We continue to have positive contacts with blindness agencies in Canberra in relation to our national work and the conduct of our Services Forums. However, we need to do more in the coming year to influence local services.
We congratulate June Ashmore on her election as President of Canberra Blind Society. I hope that, in the coming year, we can support June by giving her constructive and informed comment when she seeks the views of blind people regarding the Society's current services and future directions.
I thank everyone who has helped with the work of the ACT Branch throughout the year.
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Adelaide BRANCH
Tony Starkey President
The main emphasis for the Adelaide Branch Committee during the past twelve months was to increase our membership and to become more active across the State. Towards the end of 1996 we conducted a membership drive with the assistance of Royal Society for the Blind which included our membership brochure in its Vision SA newsletter. From this drive we increased our membership by over 270 members which makes us the third largest branch in Australia. We thank Royal Society for the Blind for its sponsorship of this project and for making funds available for further activities within South Australia.
During the year we continued to participate in the activities of the South Australian Blindness Council, particularly on the Access Committee. This committee sets the priorities for installation of audible traffic signals and provides advice on re-development of bus and train interchange facilities and upgrade of pedestrian walkways and shopping areas.
Our social sub-committee held a number of events during the year which included fashion parades, social musical afternoons and theatre visits.
Also this year submissions were made on behalf of our members to the review of the Access Transport Scheme, where we advocated the expansion of this service to include those who are blind. This would bring our State into line with Victoria and New South Wales. In conjunction with Aileen McFadzean in NFBCA National Office we also opposed the South Australian Passengers Transport Board's request for a five year exemption from complaints under the Disability Discrimination Act in relation to accessible public transport in South Australia.
In 1997-98 we are hoping to meet with our country members by holding forums to discuss whether they have any needs that are not currently being met by the blindness agencies. We hoe that more members will participate in Adelaide Branch activities in the coming year, starting with the Branch's AGM on Saturday August 16. We also intend this year to produce a SoundAbout audio magazine in addition to Dorothy Laughton's production of Adelaide News. I thank Dorothy for all the time and effort she puts into this service.
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BRISBANE BRANCH
Terry Boyle, President
Introduction
This is the fifth Annual Report of the Brisbane Branch of the NFBCA. At the time of the previous report, the future of the Brisbane Branch was looking very shaky. There had been a number of resignations from the Executive and the outcome of the funding submission for Advocacy services was not then known. A Special General Meeting was held in August, at which a number of persons were elected to the Executive.
New faces on the Executive were Ms Karen Knight, Mr Tommy Roe and Mr Craig Magill. Craig was appointed Treasurer, and has executed his responsibilities in a most conscientious manner. His recruitment to the Executive brought another dividend, in the return of his father Neil to the Executive after a short absence. Mrs Cheryl Pascual, Ms Gina Kerr, Mrs Chris Flaskas and Mr Alan Hinton continued as Executive members. The year has been a busy one, with much hard work being done by a few members. Our new secretary, Ms Karen Knight is one of these.
Karen has also been a member of the National Council for the past three years, and as Vice-President Membership and Development, carries portfolio responsibility at a national level for these items. It has been particularly pleasing to me to have Karen on the Executive of our local branch.
The Executive Committee has continued to meet on a monthly basis and general meetings were held in August, November and March. Membership has increased to 247, and audio copies of our newsletter, "Briefings from Brisbane" were sent to members on a regular basis. There were no entries for the Mercy Dickinson bursary, though it is pleasing to note that three young people (from Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Brisbane) have received assistance to attend the 1997 Convention in Adelaide through the Leadership 2000 scheme. Mr Jan Janson, architect with the Brisbane City Council, addressed the August general meeting and spoke about the refurbishment of the pedestrian precinct in the Stones Corner area. One of our members, Mr Noel Abrahams suggested that there was need for a third form of tactile paving block, one featuring diagonal raised lines.
The Brisbane City Council has been reviewing its publication "Access Brisbane". This is a directory of information for people with mobility impairments and is about access to Brisbane facilities, businesses and services. The Council has sought comment from our Branch about the content of this publication. It is also investigating the most effective means of providing this information to vision-impaired residents and visitors. This could include a continuous tape broadcast over FM Community radio, or audio announcements in information kiosks.
Vision Queensland
In July 1996 the Branch President was invited to become a member of the QBIC Advisory Board in place of Ms Val Millican who had been the Branch representative for a number of years. QBIC Industries, (formerly Queensland Blind Industrial Centre), has operated as a State-run sheltered workshop, with Mr Peter Lynam as its General Manager. Under his excellent leadership the organisation has moved into a new phase in its transition to a community-based Centre for the training and placement of vision-impaired persons into open competitive employment. This is a mammoth and visionary undertaking, one with which this NFBCA branch is proud to be associated. In November 1996, the organisation, now known as Vision Queensland, became a registered company administered by a Board of Directors.
Library & Information Services
Since November 1995 RBS (NSW) has provided a talking book library service to Queenslanders under a funding agreement with the Queensland State Government. It is pleasing to note that a further 200 people have accessed library service, bringing the total number of borrowers in Queensland to 1120. However, new applications total about 40 per month, a demand which far outstrips service capacity, hence waiting lists remain. The RBS plans to raise funds within Queensland to finance the further growth of the service. An NFBCA Branch nominee (Mr Boyle) is one of three Trustees who are to overview this fund-raising activity.
Consumers still report difficulty in accessing the service and obtaining books of their choice. The poor quality of cassettes and of the mailing containers is another concern. Hence, the Branch is seeking the formation of a local steering committee to ensure that consumers have a readily-accessible forum for their needs and concerns.
National Councillor Joan Ledermann attended our March Executive meeting as she was in Brisbane to attend a Testimonial dinner to mark the 100th birthday of the Queensland Braille Writing Association. The QBWA has a proud record of service, and the members of NFBCA congratulate the Association and applaud its on-going production and promotion of braille.
The Branch has been invited to send a speaker to a workshop on the provision of information in alternative formats. The seminar is being organised by the Queensland Department of Family Youth and Community Care which has the responsibility of ensuring that all State government Departments provide information in alternative formats.
Advocacy Funding
The most significant activity of the Branch during the past twelve months has been the Advocacy Research and Development project. News of a modest grant of $5,000 for Research and Development of such services was received in the last week of June. The joint Commonwealth/State grant was not sufficient to set up an advocacy service as we had hoped to do.
We consulted with a number of groups including Queensland Advocacy Incorporated and Queensland Parents of Persons with Disability before arranging a series of Focus Groups throughout Queensland. During March and April eleven meetings were conducted, venues being Toowoomba, Gold Coast, Redcliffe, Sunshine Coast, Gympie, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, plus two meetings in Brisbane.
The issues raised by participants were familiar, yet wideranging in scope and detail. They include numerous mobility problems, including access problems with public transport; problems of pedestrian safety, including obstacles and difficulty in crossing roads; exclusion from employment; inability to use modern technology (ATMs, EFTPOS, lift buttons); lack of access to ever-increasing forms of information (visuals on television, small print on voting papers). So often we heard stories of people being discouraged from participation in community life because of the difficulty in accessing services. Stories of hazard, humiliation, anger and frustration were common, highlighting a great need for systemic advocacy throughout the State. Our report on the project will seek to have this need addressed.
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MELBOURNE BRANCH
Christine Simpson, President
Melbourne Branch members have continued to meet in the NFBCA's meeting room on the first Monday of the month at 7.30PM. Our meetings have been quite well attended but we are always pleased to see newcomers. We have tried a mix of business meetings, guest speakers and dinner outings.
We were disappointed late last year to say goodbye to Leslye Thies, our Victorian Advocacy and Information Co-ordinator. Leslye left NFBCA after almost three years of hard work on our behalf. We have much to thank Leslye for during that time. We will miss her and we wish her good luck for the future.
In Leslye's place, we welcome Ivan Peterson who commenced his employment with NFBCA in April of this year. Like Leslye, Ivan works out of our National office. We are fortunate that he is able to handle much of our Victorian Advocacy and Policy work. We look forward to working with you Ivan.
Due to Leslye's and now Ivan's abilities to follow up on many of the issues raised at our meetings The Branch has served mainly as the forum which brings members together to raise and discuss matters of mutual concern. Through our meetings we have been able to identify issues which members feel need investigation or action, as well as keep up-to-date with changes which affect our lives. We were able to provide feedback to Leslye relating to many of the issues on which she was working.
Through regular reporting back from Council meetings John Simpson our Victorian Member on Council has ensured that we are aware of the major issues with which NFBCA Council is dealing.
The December meeting focussed on the project work of the NFBCA and in particular learned how "Smart Cards" will assist people with disabilities in the future.
April meeting attendees heard from a very interesting speaker - Ruth Nicholson. Ruth is an Orthoptist with the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind and she spoke to us about the structure of the human eye and the most common eye conditions causing vision loss. Ruth had several larger than normal plastic models of the eye and so we were able to handle them and get a good understanding of how the various parts of the eye function and fit together.
Two of the regular monthly Branch meetings were dinner outings and these seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed by all those who attended. It was good to see there several members who do not regularly attend Branch meetings.
In December last year we held a very enjoyable dinner to acknowledge the work of David Blyth following the successful conclusion of his four year term as President of the World Blind Union. We were honoured to have in attendance at that dinner Mr William Rowland of the South African National Council for the Blind.
Melbourne Branch again hosted a dinner on March 15. This dinner enabled us to meet with Delegates from across the country attending the NFBCA weekend Branch Development Forum held in Melbourne.
Again I express appreciation on behalf of all Branch members to those who have represented us on various Government, Disability and Agency committees. Your work is valued and your contributions are of benefit to us all.
NFBCA Membership within Victoria is still slowly climbing, now having passed the 850 mark. Throughout the year a small group of our members has again worked hard, endeavouring to make telephone contact with all of our members. Through these telephone calls we have been able to identify concerns which are appropriate for NFBCA to "take on board".
"Sound-About Victoria", and "Sound-Off" our two audio magazines have continued to be regularly produced and presented by Stephen Jolley and Nadia Mattiazzo respectively, both with the technical assistance of Dale Simpson. Both these audio publications produced by our members, for our members, serve as important links in keeping us informed. They are information sources upon which we have come to depend, as is the NFBCA's weekly Radio Program produced and presented by Neville Kerr. By the way, have you noticed its new "look" - a new theme and a new name?
We still have some of our coffee mugs for sale, so order quickly! These attractive small china coffee mugs are $7.00 each or two for $13.00. They display the NFBCA logo and make ideal gifts. Further details about them can be obtained from myself, Christine Simpson, (03) 9889 0392, from Committee Members, or by telephoning staff in our National Office who will endeavour to answer your inquiry, or pass it on to us.
In conclusion, I wish to acknowledge the work of our NFBCA office staff and volunteers whose help and assistance throughout the year has been much appreciated. We are lucky to have several dedicated members who regularly work tirelessly in numerous ways on their various tasks to assist the branch in its many and varied activities. Keeping in touch regularly with all our members throughout the state is no small task.
I also thank my Branch Committee of Sandra Knight, Nadia Mattiazzo, Heather Bedson, Neil Gillies and Robyn Stephens. I thank you all for your support and hard work, and your commitment of time and energy throughout the year.
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TWEED VALLEY BRANCH
Ian Harrison, President
For the last four years we have been trying to obtain a pedestrian crossing in King Street Murwillumbah. I am happy to report that we met on site with the Traffic Committee of Tweed Shire Council on April 24 1997. This matter is progressing well.
We are working on other projects. We are working to improve footpaths in the area - they are very slowly being made better. We have put in several suggestions to the local council for improvements within the Tweed area beyond the year 2000. At the moment we are trying to resolve an issue with the new Tweed Mall owned and operated by the Coles Myer Group; we are awaiting a reply to a letter.
One of our members, Christine Johnstone, attended a women's seminar in Sydney organised by The Disability Council of NSW. Chris was happy to attend, although scared of flying, and came back to the Tweed area more confident and experienced in committee procedures.
We had a very enjoyable Christmas Luncheon in conjunction with the Blind and Vision Impaired Support Group Far North Coast NSW Inc.. We held the function at the South Tweed Bowls Club, with special guest thirteen year old Louisa Young from Brisbane., Louisa played the piano for us. A good time was had by all who attended.
In March of this year NFBCA head office held a seminar for branch Presidents. I took full advantage by attending. The seminar was chaired by Brisbane's Karen Knight, who did an excellent job. It was an exhausting two days but very worthwhile. I came home full of information and will be glad to get the report as I defy anyone to remember everything that was discussed. I particularly liked the suggestion of a State Convention every other year.
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WA GUILD OF BLIND CITIZENS INC.
Peter Johnson, President
I have no hesitation in stating that the 1996-97 year has been one of the best and most successful in the history of the Guild. With the limited financial assistance we receive I believe our achievements have been outstanding and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this success.
In the field of advocacy we have been involved in the following areas.
GROUP ADVOCACY
In the past year the Guild has been active on the following committees.
We continue to keep our members informed by sending out "Consumer Voice" tapes. I would like to express my gratitude to Radio 6RPH for the assistance in producing these tapes and the subsequent improvement in quality and professionalism.
The Guild continues to liaise with blindness service agencies so that advocacy work for vision-impaired people can be coordinated and carried out with the consensus of all the local agencies.
We are very grateful to Lotteries Commission for grants for office equipment, including a tape duplicating machine and acoustic hood for the brailler, which have improved our office efficiency. We are very grateful to United Way for computer software which makes our computer more accessible for our vision-impaired volunteers. We would also like to thank Lotteries Commission for financial assistance for Forum 97. This Forum is an annual event and once again was very successful and well attended by vision-impaired people. Six workshops were held ranging over a wide variety of topics. Those who attended had the opportunity to participate and learn, to enjoy the peer support offered and to have fun. Despite our success in the past year our financial situation continues to deteriorate, which will result in a reduction of our office hours and of our service to the vision-impaired people of WA. However, we look forward to the appointment of a Public Policy Officer who is to be employed by the Association for the Blind of WA and seconded to the Guild. This secondment will be on a part-time basis for a period of two years. This person will work on public policy development and group advocacy issues.
In conclusion I would like to thank the Administration Officer, the Executive and our volunteers for their hard work and diligence over the last twelve months. The coming twelve months is going to be one of challenge and possible restructuring, but with co-operation and conviction we will come through stronger and more effective than ever.
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COMPUTER USERS GROUP OF VICTORIA
Robert Byers, President
Introduction
Since taking over the position of President of the Computer Users Group of Victoria at the Annual General Meeting in May 1996, it has been my aim, along with the elected committee:
A) To increase membership of the Group;
B) To provide the group with interesting and informative speakers for monthly meetings, together with segments, e.g. "Information Exchange" and "Internet", in which everyone would be able to have participate; and
C) To trial a four months meeting period at Vision 201, so as to gain the benefit of looking first-hand at any new equipment which may come into Vistech.
Membership
We have been quite successful in finding members for the Group. Having a stand at the TALG Expo (technical Aids Liaison Group Inc.) has provided one way for us to distribute information to prospective members. Also, our advertising of speakers for meetings, both on "Bush Telegraph" and by word of mouth, has brought us quite a few new members.
Our thanks must also go to Christine Simpson who has given new clients of Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind a brief outline of the Computer Users Group. This has indeed helped in our gaining new members. Guest Speakers
Throughout the year, we have endeavoured to have interesting and informative guest speakers, who were able to show various aspects of computers.
Our meetings held at Vistech, 201 High Street, Prahran, from June to October, 1996, were conducted very successfully, and our thanks go to David Blyth and Jim Pipczak for their cooperation in this venture. This being, however, only a trial period, it was decided to go back to 87 High Street for further meetings, and that if Vistech had anything of interest to show the group, a meeting could again be arranged there.
Summary
In summary, the Computer Users Group of Victoria has covered some new and interesting ground over the last twelve months. We have, as always, sent tapes of our meetings to Corresponding Members of our Group, who have expressed interest in the format of our meetings, and we have had good renewal of corresponding members' subscriptions.
In closing, I have enjoyed working with the Committee over the last twelve months, and believe the Computer Users Group of Victoria should be able to remain as a successful Special Interest Branch of the NFBCA for many years to come.
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NATIONAL WOMENS BRANCH
Erika Webb, Co-Secretary
It's been a busy year for the Executive of the National Women's Branch. We have put a lot of time into planning the Women's Conference and to producing "Women in Touch" magazine. We have created of the new "Leadership" book which is now on sale.
The Women's Branch would like to welcome our new members and we hope that they will bring to us their ideas and issues of concern to them.
The members of the Branch are looking forward to attending not only the Convention in Adelaide but also the Women's Branch Conference which is being held the day before Convention. The conference for women is covering topics such as Women and Finance, Women and Health, Women and Employment and also Women and Violence. The Conference came about after responses to the Women's Branch National Survey addressing issues relating to women, which was complied by Fiona Woods. We would like to thank Fiona for her hard work and also the women who responded to the survey.
The "Women in Touch" magazine has previously been produced by the Sydney NFBCA Branch up to December last year. The Women's Branch has now taken over the production role. There are four cassettes a year with the first edition in March which was produced by us. To obtain copies of the magazine, you must subscribe to it at a cost of $15.00 a year. We also send copies of the cassettes to women in various countries overseas. We are very grateful to the NFBCA Sydney Branch for their help and assistance and especially to Barry Chapman who has given us his time and experience. We are always looking for new ideas and feedback on the magazine, please contact the Women's Branch Executive with your suggestions.
The "Leadership" book results from ideas from members of the Branch. The Executive has put together some ideas about Leadership which have now been produced into book form (cassettes). The cost of the book is $15.00
During the year we also sent out two Newsletters to our members. We are always looking for input from members to make it more varied and interesting.
We are continuing with our Book Club again this year. Members can subscribe to the Book Club run by the Branch which reads and reviews interesting books. We also have another one in progress at the moment. Contact Diana Braun, 02-9747-1741, for more information.
The Branch's Annual General Meeting is held during Convention, where we elect our Executive and set our goals and priorities for the coming year.
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OVERSEAS SERVICE BRANCH
Ivan Molloy, President
The Overseas Service Branch has continued to financially support Ratmalana School for the Blind Sri Lanka in a number of projects. In the main we have supported pharmacy items for the sick room, powdered milk for the infant children, and have also supported the school library along with other projects.
We have supported these projects to the tune of $900.00. Also we have continued to forward many packs of braille paper as well as one lot of thermoform paper. We have also continued to financially support the Welfare Society for the Blind of Catabetta Sri Lanka to the tune of $600.00 as well as forwarding many packs of braille paper also to this organisation.
The braille paper project continues to grow at a study rate. By the end of May this year we had sent approximately 553 kilogram packs of braille paper to many organisations for the blind in third world countries.
At this stage financially we have $449.49 in our working account and in our fixed term deposit we have $1477.00. We have conducted three major fundraising events over the last twelve months: one being our annual BBQ which is generally held in April, we also had a Christmas luncheon in June last which proved most successful, and also a stall at Hastings in November of last year. These have been our three major fundraising activities. Along with our donations our income for the year was a little under $2,000.00, and we have spent $1,500.00 between the Ratmalana School and the Society at Catabetta and for stationary etc.
We also sent a few braille frames and stylus to the Welfare Society of Catabetta, as they were short of frames and guides and they do require this type of equipment to enable their transcribers to braille their monthly magazine.
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SA SUPPORTERS OF RADIO FOR THE PRINT HANDICAPPED
Dorothy Laughton, President
Few meetings of the Branch have been held, but information has been circulated by tape and telephone.
Bylaws for "Special Interest" Branches have been discussed and comments forwarded to the NFBCA Council. Comment regarding "President" and "Vice-President" was "positions should be filled by a "Full" or "Associate" member whichever is more competent". This has not found favour in recent "Draft Bylaws" received.
Meetings have been held with the Station Manager and Coordinator of 5RPH to discuss:
1. Focal Point - Rumours of discontinuing Friday repeat of Program - this was proved untrue at that time.
2. Better reception in foothills.
3. Appreciation and continuation of Print-handicapped Services.
4. Prior notice essential for change of times or cancellation of programs.
5. Consumer input essential and not fully addressed at that time.
6. Appreciation for coverage of NFBCA Convention.
7. Re sports broadcasts - claimed to be necessary to gain substantial income. Sports broadcasts have been reduced with station being more selective with live broadcasts.
Recently received from 5RPH is a document "Into a new era" promising a new image and innovative new membership program.
Appreciation is expressed for the support of the Board of Guide Dogs (SA), the excellence of services provided by volunteers, and the continuing dedication of Peter Greco and Philip Vandepeer in producing and hosting "Leisure Link" and "Focal Point".
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VICTORIAN SUPPORTERS OF RADIO FOR THE PRINT
HANDICAPPED
Dale Simpson, President
For Victorian Supporters of Radio for the Print Handicapped (VSRPH) the last twelve months have been relatively quiet. The branch held its Annual General Meeting in May 1996 where a new committee was elected. The Committee for the 1996-97 year has been Dale Simpson, President; Neville Kerr, VicePresident; Robyn Stephens, Secretary-Treasurer; and Nadia Mattiazzo and Heather Bedson as Committee Members.
At the close of the year the Branch had a membership of 20. Out of a scheduled four general meetings for the twelve months only two were held, due to low attendance and unavailability of members. Both meetings were used to keep members up to date with the Association for the Blind's Mildura RPH project, and there was also detailed discussions about plans to introduce "talkback" programming to 3RPH.
VSRPH has continued its representation on two Association for the Blind Committees. Once again this has proven to be valuable for both parties. We currently have four members on the 3RPH Operations Committee: Dale Simpson, Neville Kerr, Robyn Stephens and Frank Nolan. We have two members on the Program Review Committee: Frank Nolan and, a new member to the Branch, Bernadette Packer. As a younger person, Bernadette's input to this Committee is of particular importance.
The highlight of the year for the Branch was the presentation of the VSRPH Voluntary Service Award to a station volunteer who has made an outstanding contribution to 3RPH, from a listeners point of view. This year's winner was Matt Collins, the Presenter of "Talking Law" and a host of the Station's Audio Description programming.
At the Branch Annual General Meeting, held in May 1997, it was decided that a working party should be set up to determine the best way in which NFBCA can represent audience interests in RPH Services throughout Victoria. This working party is to include representation from VSRPH, the NFBCA Melbourne Branch and Council. With the likelihood that RPH Services will be provided from several centres around Victoria in the future, it is time to look to a new structure within NFBCA, that will ensure appropriate listener input to service planning and delivery.
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BLIND WORKERS UNION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
John Bastiaans, Secretary
At the 1996 Annual General Meeting some reshuffling occurred in the management of the Union, as follows:
President - Mr Darryl Hicks
Vice President - Mr David Coppock
Secretary - Mr John Bastiaans
Treasurer - Mr Steven Williams
Things have been very quiet for the Union over the last twelve months. There have been no significant changes in the running of the RSB factory. Work seems to come in bursts, more one week than the other.
our current membership has stayed steady at 28.
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AUSTRALIAN RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA ASSOCIATION
Graeme Ferguson, President
Australian Retinitis Pigmentosa Association (ARPA) delegates met in Canberra, 26-27 October 1996, for the Annual General Meeting of the Association. With the exception of Northern Territory and Tasmania, all other States and Territories were represented by two delegates and in some cases observers as well.
David and June Ashmore reported on their attendance at the International Retinitis Pigmentosa Association (IRPA) Congress in Washington, and Professor Jonathan Stone from the Retinal Dystrophy Centre at Sydney University spoke about his encouraging research into a treatment for RP. Four Australian researchers are being funded by ARPA this year.
Arrangements are well under way for the Fourth ARPA Congress to be held in Brisbane in October 1997. As well as hearing about developments in research, participants will be encouraged to discuss issues ranging from when to give up driving to employment and recreation.
ARPA Handbooks for 1997 have been distributed and the ARPA Information Kit can be obtained from member groups.
New approaches to raising funds for research are envisaged for 1998, so please keep in touch.
Thanks to all ARPA members for their loyal support and involvement during the past year.
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RP SOCIETY OF VICTORIA INC
Leighton Boyd, President
The Victorian RP Society had an extremely successful and productive year. The Council has worked very hard to provide a higher level of support and has become a better source of information to our members, friends and associates. The regular activities of managing a city office and resource centre, producing a newsletter, fundraising, and funding research are going very well.
Our office has been manned totally by volunteers, five days per week during the last year. There has been a steady increase in the number of people using the office for a variety of reasons, including gaining information on RP, and receiving support through peer counselling. This shows how important it is for a society such as ours to maintain an office for our members to access. It is encouraging that during the year the membership has continued to grow. We have a mailing list of 340, of which 245 are financial members.
Our RP Newsletter the "Achiever" was again circulated on a quarterly basis. The "Achiever" has contained articles about people affected by RP, reported on research that is being carried out in both Australia and overseas, as well as keeping us up to date with activities other groups and agencies are undertaking around the country.
Fundraising has been very successful this year. This has been as a result of our regular Raffles, Christmas Dinner and Auction, as well as our Christmas Cards which are ordered through the office or sold statewide at various card shops.
A new initiative this year has been a public awareness and donation drive. This involved sending out over 400 letters and brochures to companies, ophthalmologists and individuals who may be in a position to advertise our existence or donate funds to our cause. The overall success of this is still to be determined but we have been encouraged by some tremendous donations from a small number of individuals and organisations and by the increasing number of inquiries being directed to the office.
Another aspect of this public awareness campaign has been our concerted effort to speak at various meetings including Rotary, Probus and Lions Clubs as well as Lions Club Convention. Brochures were distributed at these venues and as well, some of our Society's members have carried out letter box drops in their immediate neighbourhood.
We have also held various Information Sessions as well as our major Seminar which was very successfully run in conjunction with the RVIB in February. Professor Jonathan Stone from the University of Sydney was our keynote speaker and his address on the "Latest in World-wide RP Research" was followed by workshops concerned with relationships, mobility, work opportunities and adaptive technologies, which were well received by all the people in attendance.
Our Annual General Meeting was also well attended and we were addressed by Mr Don Draffin who spoke humorously about his life, how he had coped with RP and his current role with the Association for the Blind, the Blind Members Council, and 3RPH.
Overall, the Council has been very pleased with the progress we have made during the last year and we look forward to next year being even more successful.
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RPH AUSTRALIA
John Simpson, Executive Officer
1996-97 has been a year of change and development for the Australian Council for Radio for the Print Handicapped. The change relates most particularly to the fact that we now use the name "RPH AUSTRALIA" to identify our network of service providers, and national programming, to the wider community.
The development has related to our commitment to ensure that all Australians with a print disability have adequate access to RPH Services.
Over this last twelve months, this commitment has been pursued through development of links with the wider Community Broadcasting Sector so that people with a print disability who live outside our direct service areas might have access to some RPH programming through their local community radio station.
This access is provided through the Community Radio Satellite Channel and the centre piece of our national programming is National Press Hour, which commenced in the previous financial year. National Press Hour provides a daily, one hour newspaper reading service, drawn from the national and international content of the Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Age, and West Australian.
In addition, we have been able to distribute "On Air with Veterans Affairs" and the NFBCA's weekly program on a regular basis and we provided access to much of our "special events" coverage via the ComRadSat Service.
In June we were pleased to work with NFBCA to include a demonstration RPH service as part of the NFBCA Convention Week activities in Albury Wodonga. This demonstration included programming supplied either directly or on tape from all RPH stations, along with locally produced newspaper readings and extensive coverage of the Convention. The week-long broadcast attracted significant media and community interest in the Albury area and as the first ever regionally based RPH transmission in Australia provided valuable experience for RPH personnel who are working toward the development of RPH Services in regional centres.
We were also pleased to take up the opportunity, provided through NFBCA, to present direct reports from Canberra on the disability aspects of both the 1996 and 1997 Federal Budgets.
NFBCA's close involvement with the World Blind Union provided the opportunity for our first international direct broadcasts, when in August, we were able to present direct coverage of the Opening Session, and then daily reports for the five days of the World Blind Union's Fourth General Assembly, held in Toronto Canada.
ACRPH functions as the national representative of its seven member stations and as such carries direct responsibility for matters such as Government and Broadcasting Industry interaction. It is in this area that we face the greatest challenges.
The Council has been working for some considerable time to secure a change to Australia's Copyright Law which will ensure that future RPH providers, whether they be exclusive services or program producers working in community broadcasting stations, have ready access to all published material without the need for specific advance permission from the Copyright owner. Over the last twelve months we have been negotiating with both the Minister for Communications and the Arts and the Copyright Law Review Committee on this matter. While the Government has not indicated its opposition to our request, progress is slow and we still need to secure individual permission for all publications used on programming distributed beyond our seven dedicated RPH Stations.
Of even greater concern has been the possibility that our stations in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth might loose access to the Commonwealth owned and maintained transmission facilities that they rely on. The Federal Cabinet has taken an in-principle decision to sell off the National Transmission Network, which largely comprises the 1100 transmitters that make up the ABC and SBS television and radio networks. Over this last twelve months much time and energy has gone to ensuring that any final proposal for the sell off of these facilities takes account of the Government's commitment to provide and maintain transmission facilities for our services. It had been expected that a final decision on this matter would be announced as part of the 1997 Federal Budget, but this did not occur and we anxiously await some indication from the Government of its continued commitment to provide for our transmission needs.
Looking to the future we can expect the emphasis on development to continue:
Robert Altamore
President, NFBCA - ACT Branch
6 Taroona Place, LYONS ACT 2606
Phone: 06-282-2805
Tony Starkey
President, NFBCA - Adelaide Branch
PO Box 356, GREENACRES SA 5086
Phone: 08-8395-4431
Terry Boyle
President, NFBCA - Brisbane Branch
54 Panorama Street, ASHGROVE QLD 4060
Phone: 07-3366-2128
Richard Mackay
President, NFBCA - Macleay Nambucca Branch
3 Laurels Avenue, KEMPSEY NSW 2440
Phone: 065-62-7174
Christine Simpson
President, NFBCA - Melbourne Branch
18 Prosper Parade, GLEN IRIS VIC 3146
Phone: 03-9889-0392
Joan Ledermann
President, NFBCA - Sydney Branch
20 Tucabia Street, SOUTH COOGEE NSW 2034
Phone: 02-9314-3318
Ian Harrison
President, NFBCA - Tweed Valley Branch
Site 28B Tweed Heritage Caravan Park
Pacific Highway, CHINDERAH NSW 2487
Phone: 066-74-3243
Peter Johnson
President, WA Guild of Blind Citizens
Lotteries House
79 Stirling Street, PERTH WA 6000
Phone: 08-9309-1664
NFBCA SPECIAL INTEREST BRANCHES
Robert Byers
President, NFBCA - Computer Users Group
42 Graham Road, HIGHETT VIC 3190
Phone: 03-9555-1190
Diana Braun
President, NFBCA - National Women's Branch
43 Woodside Avenue, BURWOOD NSW 2134
Phone: 02-9747-2741
Ivan Molloy
President, NFBCA - Overseas Service Branch
8 Morrisons Avenue, MT MARTHA VIC 3934
Phone: 03-5975-1858
Dorothy Laughton
President, NFBCA - South Australian Supporters of RPH
12 Hillburn Avenue, WINDSOR GARDENS SA 5087
Phone: 08-8261-0936
Dale Simpson
President, NFBCA - Victorian Supporters of RPH
168 Brunswick Road, BRUNSWICK VIC 3056
Phone: 03-9388-1450
CLASS A ORGANISATIONAL MEMBERS
Naomi Clark
Secretary - Association of Blind Citizens NSW
PO Box 103, BURWOOD NSW 2134
Phone: 02-9744-1516
Len Clothier
President - Association of Blind Citizens SA
Box 182, GREENACRES SA 5086
Phone: 08-8261-8520
Darryl Hicks
Secretary - Blind Workers Union of SA
PO Box 30, GREENACRES SA 5086
Phone: 08-8232-2444
Martin Stewart
President - Blind Workers Union Victoria
C/- RVIB
201 High Street, PRAHRAN VIC 3181
Phone: 03-9521-3050
Robert Nelson
President - RBS Qld
34 Cleveland Street, STONES CORNER QLD 4120
Phone: 07-3397-1234
Marj Barton
President - South Sydney Blind Community and Friends
C/- The Factory
67 Raglan Street, WATERLOO NSW 2017
Phone: 02-9698-1873
CLASS B ORGANISATIONAL MEMBERS
Julie Sullivan
Secretary - Albinism Fellowship of SA
PO Box 717, MODBURY SA 5092
Phone: 08-8264-5743
June Ashmore
Secretary - Australian RP Association
9 Douglass Place, SPENCE ACT 2615
Phone: 06-258-2150
Brendanne Killalea
President - Northern Territory Blind Association
PO Box 40294, CASUARINA NT 0810
Phone: 089-22-7344
Alison Smith
President - RP Association of Qld
PO Box 12544, Elizabeth Street, BRISBANE QLD 4000
Phone: 07-3229-0482
Wal Bolin
President - RP Society of NSW
GPO Box 3220, SYDNEY NSW 2001
Phone: 02-9744-7738
Leighton Boyd
President, RP Society of Victoria
4th Floor - Ross House
247-251 Flinders Lane, MELBOURNE VIC 3000
Phone: 03-9650-5088
ASSOCIATE ORGANISATIONAL MEMBERS
John Simpson
Executive Officer - ACRPH
18 Prosper Parade, GLEN IRIS VIC 3146
Phone: 03-9889-0392
Paul Creedon
Manager - Sensory Options Co-ordination
251 Morphett Street, ADELAIDE SA 5000
Phone: 08-8410-5488
Jenny Crosbie
Manager - Senswide Services
Level 9, 250 Queen Street,MELBOURNE VIC 3051
Phone: 03-9642-8848
Deb Lewis
Manager - Visiting Teachers Service (Victoria)
PO Box 201, NUNAWADING VIC 3131
Phone: 03-9841-0242